Stephanie on School and Writing

Steph: Since we haven't gone on many trips recently, I thought I would write a little about my school experience.  I really love being back in school again, though I'm glad I didn't do back-to-back degrees.  My work experience has given me a better perspective on life and makes me appreciate the student life all the more.

My favorite part about my program is being around people who are interested in the same thing as I am.  That support and camaraderie is so important.  Writing is a lonely process and it's comforting to have encouragement and feedback from fellow classmates.

I am learning more about myself as a writer and how I work best.  What I've come to grasp more and more is that writing is rewriting.  It is easier for me now to plough through terrible drafts, just so that I have something on paper, and not get hung up on perfection.  I then rework and rewrite the drafts until I almost go crazy (!), keeping in mind writer Philip Roth's quote: "I often have to write a hundred pages or more before there's a paragraph that's alive."  Yikes.  But I keep thinking, no writing is wasted.  Even when I delete pages in frustration, it is all practice.  Though it is mentally agonizing work, I am still enjoying the process.  When I get something right or I have an idea that fits into place, it it so rewarding.